The 1st Civil Society Forum on “Civil Society in Azerbaijan: National Agenda for Changes”
The 1st Civil Society Forum on “Civil Society in Azerbaijan: National Agenda for Changes” financed by the Budapest office of Open Society Foundation and the German Marshall Fund was held on May 17 at the Dan Ulduzu conference hall of Park Inn hotel . The National Agenda was presented in the event which was prepared on the base of suggestions for development and enhancement of the civil society in Azerbaijan. The National Agenda includes issues related to registration and activities of NGOs and recommendations on inclusive decision making process with public participation about taxation and other policies targeted civil society.
The event was opened by the chairman of PIC –Mr. Gubad Ibadoglu and he talked about the goals of the 1st Civil Society Forum and informed the participants about the issues which would be covered during the forum. Later UN Resident Coordinator- Mr. Fikret Akchura welcomed the participants and wished successes for the forum. The head of the center – Mr. Gubad Ibadoglu made a presentation on “The Current Status of Civil Society in Azerbaijan” during the event. The presentation covered the issues faced by civil society institutions and solutions were discussed as well.
Further, the head of Economic and Political Researches Center- Mr. Sabit Bagirov presented the National Agenda for the civil society in Azerbaijan. The presentation was followed by speeches.
The Chairman of Law Advocacy Association – Mr. Intiqam Aliyev spoke about some issues stemmed from baseless and not intended requirements in the law by some state organizations. He mentioned that it purposed to prevent the civil society institution from development.
The president of Azerbaijan lawyers Association – Mr. Annagi Hajibayli talked about the importance of adjustment of raised recommendations in the National Agenda to national laws.
Parliament members- Mr. Rasim Musabeyov and Gudret Hasanguliev expressed that they were not agree with the statements about the weakness of the civil society institutions and added that they observed remarkable development in this field in recent years.
At the end of the forum, it was decided to establish Advisory Council for working on the presented National Agenda and for preparing action plans for realizations of suggestions.
It should be mentioned that, representatives of state organizations, Parliament, local and foreign NGOs, foreign country embassies and international organizations participated at the event.
Public Relations Department of Public Initiative Center